The present application is directed generally to spinal implants, such as interspinous implants, and more particularly to spinal implants having a sensor associated therewith and methods of using the sensor.
The spine includes a number of vertebral members that are typically vertically spaced apart by intervertebral discs. This arrangement permits the spine to undergo slight flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation. In addition, the vertebrae typically include bony protrusions, called spinous processes, that extend posteriorly from the spinal axis.
Various medical procedures include spacing apart the vertebral members that extend along a section of the spine. These procedures may be required due to damage to one or more of the vertebral members and/or intervertebral discs caused by a specific traumatic event, a degenerative condition, a tumor, infection, or the like. These procedures typically involve decompressing the relevant vertebral members and installing some form of spinal implant. For example, a bone plate may be secured to adjacent vertebral members to fix their relative positions. However, many procedures call for the vertebral members to remain moveable relative to each other, at least to some extent. For example, a spacer may be inserted between adjacent spinous processes, or other vertebral elements, to provide elastic resistance to relative compression between the elements. The mechanical properties of the spacer (e.g., its size and stiffness) help determine how and to what extent the spacer stabilizes the spinal column. As such, it may be desirable to determine target mechanical properties for the spacer, which is not always possible to predict a priori with the desired level of accuracy.